Impregnated roller

ABSTRACT

An inking roller has an external porous shell and internal inkabsorbent material divided into a plurality of rings. Ink is delivered to the ink-absorbent material through a hollow shaft and a self-sealing inlet to the shaft. The ink-absorbent material may be glass balls or felt. Ink is injected by a graduated syringe. Ink distributing members, in the form of a ring with an array of hollow arms, may be mounted between adjacent rings of the ink-absorbent material.

O United States Patent 1 1 [H1 3,889,597 Charlton 1 1 June 17 1975 [541 IMPREGNATED ROLLER 1.966.767 7/1934 Reich 101/367 ux 2,217,552 10/1940 Horton 101/367 X inventor: Paul Charlton, Boston, England Zodtner l V V I I I I V v 4 I h 73 Assignee: Norm-int Limited England 2,773,446 12/1956 Keber,]r. 101/367 X 3.105.613 /1963 Barton et all 128/272 X [22] Filed: May 2, 1973 [211 App]. No.: 356,381 Primary Examiner-l. Reed Fisher Attorney, Agent, or Firm-McGlew and Tuttle Foreign Application Priority Data May 2, 1972 United Kingdom 20331/72 1 1 ABSTRACT May Umted Kmgdom 23573/72 An inking roller has an external porous shell and internal ink-absnrbent material divided into a plurality of rings. Ink is delivered to the ink-absorbent material H ml/197 through a hollow shaft and a self-sealing inlet to the e 0 shaft. The ink-absorbent material may be glass balls or felt. Ink is injected by a graduated syringe, Ink distriblsfi] References Cited uting members, in the form of a ring with an array of UNITED STATES PATENTS hollow arms, may be mounted between adjacent rings 916,357 3/1909 McCarty 101/367 of the ink-absorbent material. 949,437 2/1910 Munk 101/367 1,633,596 6/1927 Lievens 101/367 6 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures SHEET PATENTEDJUH 1 7 I975 lzi IIIT II liLll ees'ssv SHEET PATENTEDJUN 1 7 m5 1 IMPREGNATED ROLLER FIELD AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to inking rollers for use in printing devices. and to parts of such rollers.

According to the present invention there is provided an inking roller comprising an external porous shell, an ink absorbent filler within the shell. and hollow shaft means within the filler for delivering ink to the filler. the hollow shaft having self-sealing inlet means whereby ink can be injected into the interior of the hollow shaft.

Further according to the present invention there is provided an inking roller comprising an external, hollow. porous, generally cylindrical member, a plurality of annular ink absorbent members coaxial with the generally cylindrical member and having their outer surfaces in contact with the inner surface of the generally cylindrical member, respective ink distributors interposed between adjacent annular members, each dis tributor including a central ring carrying a plurality of outwardly-extending hollow arms, and spindle means, at least a part of which is hollow, co-axial with the cylindrical member and having openings leading to the hollow space formed by the annular members, and having a self-sealing inlet whereby a measured quantity of ink can be injected into the interior of the spindle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will now be described, by way of example. with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a preimprcgnated inking roller in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of a modified mounting shaft or spindle for the roller of FIG. 1',

FIGS. 3A to 3E are sections on the lines 3A-3A 3E3E of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3F is an end view of the shaft of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an ink distributor one or more of which can be interposed on the spindle of the inking roller and between the absorbent material of the roller;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a device for assembling the ink distributors shown in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating the steps followed in the assembly process making use of the device of FIG. 5', and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of the roller of FIG. 1 illustrating a modification incorporating the distributors of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, an inking roller 10, in accordance with the invention comprises a cylindrical outer shell 12 of a porous material and closed at opposite ends by respective non-porous caps 14, 16. The roller is mounted, by means of oil seals 18, one in each end cap l4, 16, on a central spindle or shaft extending through and coaxial with the roller shell 12.

The interior of the shell I2 is partially filled with wadding in the form of several rings 22 of felt or other ab sorhent material. for example expanded polystyrene. The rings 22 are arranged coaxially within the shell 12, the outer peripheral surfaces of the rings abutting the inner surface of the shell. and the inner peripheral sur- 2 faces of the rings lying concentric with, but spaced from the spindle 20.

The spindle 20 is hollow for at least part of its length from one end to a position within the shell 12, the hollow portion 24 of the spindle within the central part of the shell 12 being perforated at apertures 26. A disc 30 of rubber or other resilient material seals the spindle at one end of a portion 32 which extends beyond the end cap 16. The disc 30 is slotted to permit insertion of an ink injection nozzle 40 into the interior of the spindle.

To assemble the roller, the rings 22 are packed into the shell and the end caps l4, 16 are snapped into the end portions of the shell 12. The end caps l4, 16 are then located on the spindle and are retained relative to the spindle by circlips 42 which engage in annular grooves 44 of the spindle.

In use, the ink injection nozzle 40, for example the needle of a graduated syringe 46, is inserted into the slot in the rubber sealing disc 30 and a measured quantity of ink is injected into the spindle. When the needle is withdrawn, the slot automatically re-seals itself. The ink flows along inside the spindle and enters the interior ofthe shell through the perforations 26 in the spindle 20, the annular-section chamber formed between the inner peripheral surfaces of the rings 22 and the surface of the spindle constituting an ink reservoir. Ink within the reservoir is absorbed from the reservoir by the rings 22 and is fed thereby to the inner surface of the porous shell l2, the ink passing through the shell to its outer surface in a controlled manner under the effect of capillary action. After a period of use of the ink ing roller, the reservoir can be re-charged by injecting a further measured quantity of ink into the hollow spindle 20.

Suitably, the shell 12 is formed from porous, high density, sintered polyethylene with a pore size of between l00 and 300 microns and a thickness of 3.2 mm (1/8 of an inch).

Felt forms a particularly suitable wadding in as far as it has good absorbency characteristics enabling rapid ink flow both radially and axially of the roller, while being sufficiently retentive to ensure controlled flow from the ink reservoir to the shell.

As an alternative to using an absorbent wadding, the interior of the shell can be filled with glass or other balls suitably having a diameter of between (0.50 and 0.75 mm) 0.02 and 0.03 inches. Preferably, the balls are retained in position by axially spaced annular baffles.

The ink used to fill the roller is a liquid ink having a suitable viscosity to allow injection filling.

Particularly, although not exclusively, with larger size inking rollers, it is likely that the demand for ink will differ along the length of the roller shell I2 and it follows that some portions of the shell periphery will be over inked while other portions will become dry. This difficulty can be overcome by replacing the spindle 20 by the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The arrangement comprises an inner sleeve 48 having apertures 50 each having a diameter of approximately 1.6 mm (l/l6 of an inch) and these are distributed as indicated in FIGS. 3A to SE at positions 1, 2, 3 and 4. An outer sleeve 52 has a single row of aligned apertures 54 each approximately 0.8 mm diameter 1/32 of an inch). As illustrated all apertures 54 will be aligned with apertures 50 of the sleeve 48 and so all parts of the roller will be supplied with ink. If a knob 56 at the end of the sleeve 48 is rotated anti-clockwise through 90 there will be no flow to the central aperture 54 and to the apertures 54 to the right thereof. If the knob is rotated anticlockwise through a further 90, then the left-hand and right-hand end apertures 54 will receive no ink and the central three apertures will be supplied. A further 90 rotation will result in closure of the two apertures 54 at the left-hand end portion and the central aperture, while the two right-hand end apertures will be open. In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3A to SE, the respective apertures 50, of each set of apertures associated with a single aperture 54, are angularly spaced. Alternatively however the respective apertures of each set can be axially spaced whereby the ink distribution can be varied by an axial push-pull movement of the knob 56 or of the sleeve 52.

An ink distributor 60 shown in FIG. 4 comprises an annular member 62 carrying outwardly-directed radial arms 64 each formed with a passage 66 extending lon gitudinally thereof. Each distributor is mounted as shown in FIG. 7 within the shell 12 with the roller spindle 20 extending through the annular member 62 so that the inner end portion of each arm (and thus of the passage) lies within the ink reservoir fed from the apertures of perforations 26. The outer end 68 of each arm is spaced from the inner surface of the shell 12 preferably by about 3.2 mm l/S ofan inch) so that the distributor acts to feed ink directly from the reservoir to the absorbent material 22 adjacent the inner surface of the shell 12. A number of such distributors can be arranged spaced axially within the shell as shown in FIG. 7.

The distributor can be in the form of a plastics or metal molding consisting of two identical parts. joined together in a median plane extending at right angles to the axis of the annular member 62, by means of interengaging studs and recesses on the adjacent faces of the two parts.

In one practical form, as illustrated. the distributor has five arms 64 evenly arrayed about the axis of the annular member. the arms having an outer diameter of mm and the passages therein having a diameter of 3mm.

The ink distributors 60 can be assembled from their two identical parts with the aid of the device illustrated in FIG. 5. The parts themselves are conventional thermoplastics moldings and further details of the molding process need not be given.

The device is capable of assembling. in stages. a plurality of distributors as shown in FIG. 4 and comprises an elongate base 70 having a central upright member 72 and a pivot assembly 74 which carries a shaft 76 arranged to receive. with a free sliding fit, a plurality of distributors 60 in their dis-assembled parts form. The parts are held in position by end plates 78, 80 which have cut-outs 82, 84 for a purpose which will appear hereinafter.

The base 70 carries on one portion of the member 72 an elongate support bar or rod 86 which serves to support the shaft 76 whilst the distributor parts are being loaded on to the shaft 76. The opposite portion of the base 70 carries a heated bar 88 which is substantially symmetrically arranged about the member 72 with respect to the support bar or rod 86. It will be apparent that the cut-outs 82, 84 of the end plates 78, 80 are complementary to the upper surface of the heated bar 88. The bar 88 is heated by an electrical heating element. a control knob 90, of which is conveniently mounted in the base 70.

The operation of the device is illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C. As shown in FIG. 6A distributor parts are threaded on to the shaft 76 face-to-face and once a load is completed the end plate is replaced and locked in position. for example by a circlip (not shown J. The shaft 76 is then pivoted about the upright member 72 (FIG. 6B) and the distributor parts are engaged in a first position on the heated bar 90 which is of appropriate cross-section. Once the contacting edges of the parts have been sealed, the shaft 76 is pivoted anti-clockwise (as shown) through a small angle and the distributors are then rotated in unison to a second position. The distributors are then placed on the heated bar 88 in this second position and. after sealing has taken place. this process is repeated until all edges of every distributor have been scaled. On completion the finished distributors are removed and are ready for use. Alignment of a row of distributors is ensured by the bar 86 and once the end plate 80 has been placed in position misalignment cannot readily occur.

I claim:

I. An inking roller comprising an external. hollow, porous. generally cylindrical member.

a plurality of annular ink-absorbent members coaxial with the generally cylindrical member and having their outer surfaces in contact with the inner surface of the generally cylindrical member,

an ink distributor interposed between two of the annular members.

said distributor including a central ring. and a plurality of outwardly-extending hollow arms carried by the central ring, and

spindle means at least a part of which is hollow.

said spindle means being co-axial with the cylindrical member and having openings leading to the hollow space formed by the annular members. and said spindle means comprising a self-sealing inlet whereby a measured quantity of ink can be injected into the interior of the spindle means.

2. In an inking roller an external. porous, generally cylindrical. shell. means defining a plurality of separate. but axially adjacent, ink-absorbent rings the outer peripheries of which are in contact with the inner surface of the shell, hollow shaft means within the rings for delivering ink to the rings, and respective ink distributors disposed between axially adjacent ink-absorbent rings, each ink distributor being arranged to convey ink from the hollow shaft means to a position adjacent the outer periphery of the rings.

3. An inking roller according to claim 2, wherein said hollow shaft means comprises two co-axial sleeves. an outer one of the sleeves having longitudinally spaced and aligned first apertures along its length and the inner sleeve having peripherally distributed second apertures at the same longitudinal spacing as the apertures of the outer sleeve. relative rotation of the inner and outer sleeves to selected relative angular positions causing selective alignment of said second apertures with said first apertures to effect selective supply of the printing ink from the inner sleeve through the outer sleeve.

4. An inking roller according to claim 2, wherein each inkabsorbent ring comprises a mass of glass balls.

being spaced along the length of the hollow shaft and serving to deliver ink to the ink absorbent filler at a position adjacent the internal surface of the shell, each said distributor comprising a ring and a plurality of hollow arms carried in radial array on the ring, the inner ends of the arms being disposed to receive ink from the hollow shaft. 

1. An inking roller comprising an external, hollow, porous, generally cylindrical member, a plurality of annular ink-absorbent members co-axial with the generally cylindrical member and having their outer surfaces in contact with the inner surface of the generally cylindrical member, an ink distributor interposed between two of the annular members, said distributor including a central ring, and a plurality of outwardly-extending hollow arms carried by the central ring, and spindle means at least a part of which is hollow, said spindle means being co-axial with the cylindrical member and having openings leading to the hollow space formed by the annular members, and said spindle means comprising a self-sealing inlet whereby a measured quantity of ink can be injected into the interior of the spindle means.
 2. In an inking roller an external, porous, generally cylindrical, shell, means defining a plurality of separate, but axially adjacent, ink-absorbent rings the outer peripheries of which are in contact with the inner surface of the shell, hollow shaft means within the rings for delivering ink to the rings, and respective ink distributors disposed between axially adjacent ink-absorbent rings, each ink distributor being arranged to convey ink from the hollow shaft means to a position adjacent the outer periphery of the rings.
 3. An inking roller according to claim 2, wherein said hollow shaft means comprises two co-axial sleeves, an outer one of the sleeves having longitudinally spaced and aligned first apertures along its length and the inner sleeve having peripherally distributed second apertures at the same longitudinal spacing as the apertures of the outer sleeve, relative rotation of the inner and outer sleeves to selected relative angular positions causing selective alignment of said second apertures with said first apertures to effect selective supply of the printing ink from the inner sleeve through the outer sleeve.
 4. An inking roller according to claim 2, wherein each ink-absorbent ring comprises a mass of glass balls.
 5. An inking roller according to claim 4 wherein the balls have diameters in the range 0.50 and 0.75mm.
 6. In an inking roller an external porous shell, an ink-absorbent filler within the shell, hollow shaft means within the filler for delivering ink to the filler, said hollow shaft comprising self-sealing inlet means whereby ink can be injected into the interior of the hollow shaft, and a plurality of ink distributors, said distributors being spaced along the length of the hollow shaft and serving to deliver ink to the ink absorbent filler at a position adjacent the internal surface of the shell, each said distributor comprising a ring and a plurality of hollow arms carried in radial array on the ring, the inner ends of the arms being disposed to receive ink from the hollow shaft. 